Mirrored Flames
by herRhi-chan
Summary: Hifumi does yet another thing to piss off Hiruko, and yet another customer suffering. Flames, faceless reflections. A jacket-less Hiruko! Title..has a bit to do with the plot -.-;;


Woo, So, I've had to type this twice. First Nightmare Inspector fic, but I hope it's still decent.

I just finished the NI series..it was brilliant, and gory, and magnificent! I hate the end though..I loved Chitose-Hiruko! D;

Anyway, this is a rather small fandom…but I hope you enjoy :3 (a bit of Hifumi bashing :3)

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><p>Hiruko's expressions were hard to read, but Hifumi was having no trouble figuring out that he should either be hiding, or running for his life. Although theBaku's eyes held their usual stoic apathy, there was a subtle tick under his left eye, revealing his inner state of pissed-offness.<p>

TheBakuwas standing, gripping his cane so tightly, that his knuckles were white. He did not have his shiny, black trenchcoat, so his slender, sickly hued pale legs were exposed from his tiny, black shorts, to his knee-socks. On top of that, the sleeveless shirt exposed his shoulders and twisted, white arms to the sun, which was pouring through the window. This more than displeased him.

"Hifumi, baka, where is my jacket?" the stoic one asked, pointing at a small, black bundle on the floor behind the clearly terrified idiot.

"Uhh..uhm, I was doing Mizuki-chan a favor!..?"

"how exactly does ruining my jacket, now along with my cane,ANDcase, constitute as assisting Mizuki in ANY way?" he ground out, his level tone of speaking scaring Hifumi even more.

"She-I..she had to go pick something up..and was in the middle of the washing..?\I told her I would finish it up…I was just helping with the laundry?" he ending with a questioning tone, looking for the right answer, and kicking the shrunken apparel behind him.

Hiruko's expression was pretty straight forward: 'Death shall not be swift'. He reached into his shorts pocket for his knife…

And, at that opportune moment (probably saving Hifumi's life) Mizuki burst through the door of the Silver Star, carrying a bag with several things in it, including a pouch of dark-coloured beans.

Instantly taking in the scene before her…a twitching Hiru-chan (clad in his short shorts, sleeveless shirt, wrinkled knee socks around his ankles, and platformed shoes) and a squeamish, scared Hifumi who had flung himself behind her, trodding on a mangled clothing… one of Black Jacket variety.

"It was just a simple task!" she mumbled exasperatedly

"Maybe for your average non-idiot" theBakugrumbled, picking up the rumpled, shriveled remains of what had once been his perfectly fitting shiny black coat.

"Hi-hiruko, I will BUY you a BRAND new one…just don't kill me! It'll be even better than this one!" the blonde exclaimed, nodding vigorously, as if dislodging his head would purge him of his offense to the Baku.

"And this is what happens when I'm gone for twenty minutes" Mizuki waved her hand, and shook her head, wandering behind the counter.

The Nightmare eater, with a look of sinister plotting on his face, wandered over to his designated corner, sat down, and laid his head the crook of his arm, blocking out the last of the evening sunlight. Then, as if to punctuate his already pitiful state, his stomach growled. He rubbed his face with his palm, kicking his sock-clad legs, obviously attempting to ignore the world as best he could. Naamu decided that then was the perfect moment to nest in his head of disheveled hair, pawing the blue headband off.

'Kuso.." He buried his head further into the crook of his arm, wallowing.

Hifumi took this opportune moment to slink off to go do..Hifumi things..  
>While, Mizuki eyed the sulkingBaku, and wiping down the already sterilized tables<p>

And then, the tinkling bells jingled.

…Under cover of darkness…

…they come to the Silver Star Tea House…

…seeking solace..

the door closed loudly, rivaling the loud growling of Hiruko's stomach. Before a bemused looking Mizuki, stood what looked to be another Hiruko. The only noticeable differences were that the being was a good foot taller, and if possible, thinner, in a sickly way…emaciated. He was dressed in nothing really fancy, and was looking directly at the sulking figure in the corner.

"Are you the dream-eating Baku? You can rid me of my nightmare?" his voice was frantic, and his eyes wide, with fear and anxiety. The pretty little innkeeper closed her eyes, slightly miffed at being completely ignored, and poured two cups of steamy liquid life. Also called coffee…  
>Hiruko paid no mind to the excited figure, except to offer an affirming grunt, and tapped his cane against the briefcase he carried with him.<p>

"Help me! Please! You've got to end this nightmare!" his voice was to the point of hysteria, raising and lowering in pitch.

"I do not wish to go in blind, what is your terror?"

"G-gomen..my name isMiraIbitsu.. the dram starts off with loud, happy music, and laughter, and I'm with people I know are pleased with me. It's bright, and there are so many faces, but in my reflections, I see every face but my own..and once I realize I can't see myself, the aura turns horrible! The screams! And-the..hot..and I crack..my skin peels and cr-cracks! The screams turn t-"

"Enough," Hiruko waved his hand, stood up, and grabbed his cane.

…"Sleep now…

…leave this world behind…"

The Tea House went black, and colour returned after a flash of white.

The scene was dark, with hues from purple to black, and there were shouts of laughter, with light music in the background. Everything was blurred, as if the vision weren't in focus.  
>Hiruko nodded to himself with a slight smirk to his lips, and floated a little higher up on his Nightmare collecting staff. The tiny short made him feel cold, and the already low temperature inside one's consciousness were not helping his (cute little) ass.. 'Hifumi, kisama..' he looked down, and noticed his customer was staring up at him..however, not at his <em>face<em> though…

The spectator, realizing he'd been caught, averted his eyes at theBaku's icy glare.

"I suppose I just like seeing good-looking things," Mira mumbled shamelessly, and thus, Hiruko turned his head to the side, concealing an ever-so faint blush on his death-pale cheeks. 'Kuso…'he covered his face with his hand.

"What is that I am supposed to do to help you?" he asked, changing the awkward subject from his 'good-looking' ass.

"In a moment, when I look up to see reflections, and I'm not there, everything will change..the voices, my friends, will run and scream.. I need you to tell them I'm sorry for whatever I've done wrong! I need them.."

Just as Ibitsu finished, the jubilant atmosphere shifts, and the surrounding air became stuffy and hot, making the dreamer choke, "N-no!..this is always when-" the laughing voices ceased their happy cries, and started to scream in terror. Caught up in his fright, the customer began to hack, and cough, and a keening noise sounded causing the entire place to vibrate, until Ibitsu began to shine, and crack. His whole body was breaking into shards, collapsing into a pile, while where there had once been a face, there was no longer anything but blank broken skin.

Faint whispers and shouts rang out, asking questions, and shouting about not being ready, as the heat became more intense.

Just as Hiruko was tailing after the voices, to do his customer's bidding, the entirety of the dream collapsed and disappeared, along with the burning smell.

The stoicBakukneeled before the small pile of silvery ash, sweeping the broken shards into his hands, "Do you remember now, Mira?".

The glittering pieces sighed miserably in an affirming gesture.

})I({

Mizuki sat across from Hiruko's claimed seat, staring at the shattered pieces of glass cutting into theBaku's hands.

"Nani-?" he fingered one of the shards, drawing it over his skin playfully, drawing a small trail of blood.

"He was a carnival mirror, one of a few. He reflected the first thing he saw, being me, and stretched the image to his own proportions. His dream was of the night he 'died'.."

he gave a pointed look at Naamu, who'd decided to gnaw on his fingers in return for taking the nest of hair away. "His 'friends' whom he amused, were patrons who'd wandered through the mirror house. A few weeks ago, his 'home' had gone up aflame, because an oil lamp had spilled over. Everyone was trapped inside, unable to escape quickly enough. They all burnt to death in front of him, and once the heat became too much for his glass makings to withstand, he cracked into bits, and died along with his admirers. He'd blocked the spraying of the dying people's blood from his memory, causing it to manifest as a dream in his inanimate dead consciousness"

At the confused (and slightly disgusted) look, Hiruko smiled a most chibi-ful smile, and returned to his room with Naamu in tow.

Mizuki was not able to get much sleep…With the tortured screams of Hifumi keeping her up

'Hhhhh, I suppose Kairi's not going to have a black trench-coat, along with canes and briefcases…' She shook her head.

"Baka, Hifumi…"

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><p>note<p>

Kuso- damn it

Kisama- you bastard

Baka-idiot

Ibitsu- distorted

Mira-mirror

;3


End file.
